A man who robbed a Canadian guest worker `because he was white' earlier this year was sentenced to four years in prison in the Supreme Court yesterday.

Assistant Justice Phillip Storr heard how Ross Noel Charles Parsons, 32, of Middle Road, Warwick, and others not before the court, spotted the 40-year-old male in Pembroke at about 1 a.m. on January 26. He later admitted he targetted him because he was white.

Crown counsel Oonagh Vaucrosson said that the visitor was near the junction of Court and Dundonald Streets when he was approached by a man later identified to be Parsons and five other males.

According to evidence, Parsons approached the man and pulled up his sleeve and saw a gold bracelet on his wrist.

Mrs. Vaucrosson said Parsons then told the man, "I want that chain," and proceeded, with his accomplices, to beat the man up and kick him about the face, ribs, and buttocks. The victim eventually received six stitches. He told Police that he tried to defend himself from his attackers but was very afraid as Parsons had a knife and was continually flicking the blade in and out.

He said Parsons took his bracelet and two necklaces, worth a total of $1,392.

Mrs. Vaucrosson said that Parsons initially denied knowing anything about the incident when he was questioned by Police, but when he was released on Police bail, some of the stolen items were found among his possessions.

Although he eventually co-operated with Police, Parsons did not express any remorse for the robbery and said: "It was his time."

Mrs. Vaucrosson also said that Parsons admitted that he preyed upon the man because he was white.

She asked Mr. Storr to consider giving Parsons a sentence between five and seven years: "The community needs to be protected from Mr. Parsons. He showed no remorse and said that it `was the defendant's turn'."

But defence lawyer Mark Pettingill refuted this claim, saying that the robbery was not an incident of racial hatred, but more so the victim stood out because of where he was. Mr. Pettingill asked Mr. Storr to take into consideration that Parsons, who, on his own admission, frequently used marijuana and alcohol and was under the influence when the robbery occurred.

He added since being remanded five months ago, Parsons had been assessed by case workers and was prepared to go along with the goals that had been set out in a subsequent report.

"He's prepared to do the work to ensure that this doesn't happen again," said Mr. Pettingill.

Mr. Storr told Parsons, who has an extensive criminal record dating back to 1993: "You're only over 30 years old, but it's a pretty awful record for someone your age. You're progressing on a route for a very serious offence. Every week nowadays we hear about visitors being robbed, and often to feed a drug habit."

After handing down the four year sentence, he told Parsons that the five months he spent in custody would be taken into consideration.